And when He encouraged forgiveness, the honor increased. He said: ﴿And He responds﴾ meaning that the response is found with utmost care and request. The response of ﴿those who have believed﴾ means the supplication of those who affirmed their faith in all that they called upon Him for or interceded with Him regarding it. For if it were not for His will for them to be honored with faith, they would not have believed. He attributed the action to Himself as a reminder of the increase of His kindness towards them and His connection with them. (p-307) ﴿And they did good deeds﴾ as a confirmation of their claim of faith. ﴿The righteous﴾ and He will reward them with the everlasting bliss. ﴿And He will increase them﴾ meaning along with what they called upon Him for, what they did not call upon Him for and what did not occur to their hearts. And since this, although the first is a clearer favor from Him, He said: ﴿From His favor﴾ while it is permissible to relate it to the two actions.

And when those whose severance had been prolonged desired to reconnect by mentioning His honor when they approached Him, those who continued in their severance were fearful. He said: ﴿And the disbelievers﴾ meaning those entrenched in this description, who were prevented by their entrenchment from repentance and faith. ﴿For them is a severe punishment﴾ and He does not respond to their supplication. As for others among the sinners, they have a punishment that is not necessarily bound by severity. The verse is from the intertwining: mentioning the response first as evidence against its opposite secondly, and the punishment secondly as evidence against its opposite first. And it pleased Him that He mentioned the motivator for obedience and the one who prevents disobedience.